Designing Spindles

Re: Designing Spindles

Bill Jacksonville, NC

This is just one of several images online:

http://woodworking.about.com/od/woodturning/qt/SpindleProfiles.htm

Re: Spindles parts diagram *LINK*

Dave Paine

The link below has the best summary of spindle design elements I have seen so far.

I am not sure how to guide you on which element to go next to which other element. A lot is personal preference. Some easier to turn than others.


http://lehighvalleywoodturners.com/wp-content/uploads/Spindle_terminology.pdf

Victorian woodturnings and woodwork

john Lucas

from the Astragal press. Don't know if it's still in print but you can pull hundreds of ideas from the various pieces and parts.

Edited link

Doc Green

The link in the above post:

http://lehighvalleywoodturners.com/wp-content/uploads/Spindle_terminology.pdf

Re: Designing Spindles

robo hippy

While there is no discussion linked to it, you could google search for wood spindle images. More ideas than you can probably absorb.

robo hippy

Thanks, did not notice the extra http

Re: Designing Spindles

Keith Tompkins

Some important considerations, IMO, to create successful spindle turnings:

1. no flat spots, seek to turn flowing curves. 2. separate all elements with a filet or distinct break. 3. create tension by varying diameters; large contrasted with small 4. think of the rule of thirds, apply it to all spindle turnings. 5. avoid v-cuts as a design element (this image contains v-cuts, just to see if I could make it work) 6. keep it simple 7. beads and coves, separated by a filet...never fails. 8. Don't make beads and coves symmetrical, again, rule of thirds can apply. Sorry, not a book, but may be useful. Look up Jon Seigel, a top-notch spindle turner.

Re: Designing Spindles

John C Lucas

Don. What i did for years was everytime i went ingo an old hotel,historic home,museum etc was to make sketches of how elements fit together on the spindles that i found on furniture,lamps, moulding etc. How did sizes relate. How were coces or beads seperated. Were the beads always half sphere or we tbey elipses or some otber shape. Same is true with coves,some are half spheres some look more like negative versions of Frank Lloyd wrights columns.

My thoughts were someone thought long and hard about those designs so i should be able to learn something

Re: Designing Spindles

Lyle Jamieson

Check out Cindy Drozda DVDs

Re: Spindles parts diagram

don stephan

Thank you David. I've never seen such a complete diagram.

Re: Designing Spindles

don stephan

"Turned wooden pedestal" images was helpful. Thanks Reed.

Great drawing

Ellis Walentine

I remember that magazine -- used to have lots of good articles.

Would #16 be a cove?

Ellis

Re: Designing Spindles

Barry Irby

Lots of good ideas here. Keith's finial is beautiful but has a "no no" in it. Keith mentions not to use V cuts. Those would be the ones that come to a sharp edge. They look beautiful and are difficult to turn so it looks like something a master did out of a very fine piece of wood, but they are delicate. Over time they will get broken and look like snaggle teeth. Particularly on something that will get handled.

Re: Great drawing

Dave Paine

I thought you might remember that magazine.

Thanks for catching that I missed #16 the cove.

I will now correct this in the diagram.

Re: Victorian woodturnings and woodwork

RCH

Good suggestion. Reprints of Victorian and early 20th century millwork catalogs and design books provide hundreds of profiles. There are many available.

Re: Designing Spindles

Bill Jacksonville, NC

Think when comes to design elements of a spindle need to keep it simple whether talking about architectural, ornaments, or all others. If there is a rule feel, design elements listed below must be proportional to size of a spindle.

Several years ago a noted spindle turner at an AAW symposium drew series of squiggles on the board and defined them as follows. Basically covered term below. These terms are interchangeable based upon length, diameter, and depth of cut.

Tenons

Flats & filberts pretty much the same thing

Ogees, swells, or onions

Coves, scotia

Beads, balls, spheres

V-cuts

Recess needed when joining two or spindles together. Simply drill a hold that fits a tenon.

Normally like the rule of thirds to achieve harmony in design but doesn’t always work for me. Good example are Pine lamp posted on my project page over at Lumberjocks.

Re: Designing Spindles

Joe Fleming

Mike Darlow's book Woodturning Design goes into spindle and column designs quite a bit.

Stuart Batty has a lot of spindle design wisdom locked up in his head. One "rule", for example, that I learned from him is that a bead and a cove never go next to each other without a fillet in between. If you get a chance to take a class with him, you can extract that knowledge.

Re: Designing Spindles

William Duffield

I have to make an objection to Mr. Batty's rule. In the Lehigh Valley Woodturners/American Woodworker diagram provided by David Paine, what is the problem with segments 4 and 15, which break this rule? The ogees are formed from a cove next to a bead, without an intervening flat. Giving them a new name is not what makes them an acceptable form.

Google books project

Geoff Whaling

Check out historical woodturning texts for spindle profiles used on many of the now defunct items that were made in huge quantities by hand in woodturning factories before CNC lathes etc.

Many items like smokers stands, hat stands etc were detailed as exercises in school and apprentices text books.

Another source is Museum collections like - the Bruhn collection of woodturning objects http://collections.museumvictoria.com.au/articles/2720

Plenty of ideas to "modernize."

Correct attribution would be nice

Geoff Whaling

Yes it is a great spindle diagram. Correct attribution would be nice.

This was redrawn by me for my purposes in Autocad in Jan 2011 from a Jpeg image of unknown origin at that time. My redrawn version first appeared on the original World of Woodturners site in the File Cabinet then in an article in South Auckland Woodturners Guild – April Newsletter along with an edited version of the original Jpeg by Phread Thurston.

After a fair bit of research I located its source Jim Galbraith, Bremerton, WA and the later version 2 from May 2011 included the reference to the AAW article in the PDF.

Here is the extract of my email sent to the editor of SAWG’s newsletter in 2011 “The earliest version that I have traced was in a "Tutorial" in the American Woodturner Vol 9 Iss 4 p40. In my redrawn version I have added the +ve & -ve V cuts.” They and a number of other items were never in the original Jpeg.

From the SAWG article this was then supplied to several clubs in the USA one of the first being Parker Curtis from Louisville Area Woodturner’s along with a few others who asked for permission to use the PDF.

Please feel free to use them on club web site however I would request that the original attribution to the AAW article stay in place and I would love the courtesy of having my work recognised appropriately.

Original image



My PDF's

Re: Designing Spindles

Joe Fleming

William,

Stuart makes a distinction between a bead and cove (two almost semi circular forms), vs an ogee. I agree with you that ogees definitely have a place in spindle turning.

Joe

Re: Designing Spindles

William Duffield

I'm being picky. If the arcs are more than about 60°, they need to be delineated by a step in the middle.

Woodturning Design book

John K Jordan

>>Mike Darlow's book Woodturning Design goes into spindle and

>>column designs quite a bit.

I think this is a great book, lots of photos and drawings. Historical illustrations. Good for just browsing for ideas. He includes a small chapter specifically on spindle design but has good ideas on spindles throughout the book. Not too wimpy either - 271 pages.

JKJ

Re: Designing Spindles

Don Stephan

Fiddlesticks, I have 3 Mike Darlow books but didn't know of that one. Off to the public library . . .